


A Simple Kindness

by namizaela



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Character Study, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Insecurity, Trust Issues, aka yen has a lot of trouble trusting people, this leads to...problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namizaela/pseuds/namizaela
Summary: In the middle of the night, long after Geralt falls asleep, Yennefer makes a choice.(Set the night before the attack on the golden dragon).
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	A Simple Kindness

**Author's Note:**

> hello this is my first witcher fic i'm very excited :) i wrote this bc i love geralt and yen's relationship but they both have a ton of issues that i wanted to explore. their relationship doesn't really work yet and this is my attempt at finding out one of the reasons why!

His fingers curled around her forearm, squeezing gently. His brow, normally furrowed and dark with frustration, was relaxed, and his already slow-moving heart beat even more slowly. His hand never left her.

Yennefer was used to sleeping alone--in fact, she would say she preferred it. Her house in Vengerberg had a spacious, downy bed that she loved to stretch out across on the nights that she slept in it. But this night was different. The luxuries in her tent were made of magic, and although she wasn’t ashamed to admit that her magical talent ranked among the best in the world, she could tell the difference. There was a price to everything, even an illusion this small.

Geralt was sleeping, and Yennefer hesitated to do the same. Seeing him like this was rare enough. Seeing him so calm, so vulnerable, didn’t happen often. She knew they both had other things to worry about--namely, the golden dragon that held the cure to her infertility buried deep beneath its scales. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she failed, yet again, to make herself whole. It’s not that she wanted a baby. She just wanted a choice, for once, that was completely her own. Even that was taken away from her.

Geralt stirred, shifting under the sheets. His fingers almost fell from her arm, but he unconsciously tightened his grip, stroking his thumb gently across her skin. 

He was gentle, almost reverent, even in his sleep. It was something she couldn’t understand. He killed his enemies with ferocious efficiency, not hesitating for a second, yet he seemed so in awe of her that he didn’t know what to do.

His admiration, his awe. She had seen it before. Not on Istredd, who had offered her a simple love affair, but on someone else. She had seen it on the mage who transformed her, when she sacrificed everything to be perceived as beautiful.

Something twisted in Yennefer’s stomach at the thought. Was Geralt really like the mage? Did he only care about her potential, who she could become instead of who she was? To be bound to a man who wouldn’t have given her a second thought before her transformation--she couldn’t stand the idea.

There was a way to find out, she realized. Mind-reading was a powerful tool, and it would be trivial to do when he was asleep. All she had to do was lightly touch his forehead, let the thoughts flow in. Nothing could be easier.

After a moment, Yennefer lifted her fingers. She let them rest just above his eyebrows. His skin was cool to the touch. She merely needed to make the choice to burrow into his mind, and she would have her answer. 

Her fingers hovered, the quiet hum of magic pervading the room. It was simply a choice, she thought. She could know the truth, or she could continue on in her ignorance. Each one had a price.

A minute passed, then another. Her hand fell, and the magic fizzled out. She couldn’t do it. She didn’t want the answer. A brief self-loathing flared up in her, but she squeezed her eyes shut. Not knowing was better, she thought, it was kinder. That kindness would have to be enough.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed, comments mean a lot to me! i'm considering writing more but idk what to write about....feel free to leave suggestions :)


End file.
